Vehicles can be configured to operate in an autonomous mode where the vehicle navigates through an environment with little to no input from a driver. Such autonomous vehicles can include one or more sensors that are configured to detect information about the environment in which the vehicle maneuvers and operates.
One such sensor may include a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser light. Such a laser light may exist in the mirror-infrared and/or infrared wavelength band of the electromagnetic spectrum. A laser, or set of lasers, can be rapidly and repeatedly scanned across a scene to provide continuous real time information on distances to reflective objects in the scene. Combining the measured distances and the orientation of the lasers while measuring each distance allows for the production of a three-dimensional grid with each returning pulse. In this way, a three dimensional map of points representing the surroundings indicate the respective environment that the vehicle is maneuvering through.